Digital Interactive Phrasing System And Method

ABSTRACT

A digital interactive phrasing (DIP) system allows listeners to select and edit digitally prepared elements, such as audio or video clips, in any arrangement to create a custom mix. The elements may be reused to make new, different arrangements, as desired by the listener. The system allows the selection, assembly and playback of created sequences of elements, such as songs, verses, dialogs and video elements.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/704,314, filed Nov. 7, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The proliferation of computers and the Internet have changed the wayaverage consumers buy, store and listen to music. It is no longernecessary to buy complete albums or to have songs stored on medium suchas CDs. It is possible to download songs from the Internet and storethem digitally on devices such as MP3 players.

The digital storage of songs allows listeners to store individual songsfrom various artists together. Without being confined to CDs having aspecific song order, users are free to create different song orders fromthe catalog of songs stored on the MP3 player.

Greater freedom in digitally stored songs have allowed the averageperson to mix together phrases of songs. While this amount ofinteraction by listeners with songs if desirable, it is often timeconsuming and beyond the abilities of an average listener.

As the music industry has embraced the new matter in which songs aredistributed and sold to the ultimate consumer, piracy and unauthorizedcopying of songs has long been a concern. The technology of making suchtransfer of songs possible also increases the ease in which copyrightinfringement occurs. A secure format preventing piracy would be welcomedby the music industry.

It is an object of the invention to provide listeners with a system andmethod for allowing interaction with commercially recorded music.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method for listenersto assemble audio and visual clips in any manner, being able to reuseclips in different arrangements.

It is still another object of the invention to empower a user willlimited musical and computer skills to create blends of two or moremusical tracks.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art after reading the disclosure of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A digital interactive phrasing (DIP) system allows listeners to selectand edit digitally prepared elements, such as audio or video clips, inany arrangement to create a custom mix. The elements may be reused tomake new, different arrangements, as desired by the listener. The systemallows the selection, assembly and playback of created sequences ofelements, such as songs, verses, dialogs and video elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Original source material is divided into pre-edited, digitally preparedelements arranged in a coded sequence. The elements are stored inmemory, such as a computer hard drive or a removable storage device suchas a CD, for future reassembly. The elements have a file main portionwith a tag at the beginning and ending. The tag allows the centralprocessing unit to identify the beginning and end of each element soelements may be mixed together.

A computer accesses the elements from the databases where they arestored. Each element can be mixed with other elements in the DIP format.The tag locates a point at which one element is spliced with anotherelement. The splice may be a fade where the first element is faded outwhile the second element is faded in. The splice may also be a seamlesstransition. Any variety of transition affects can be used and includedin the preparation and editing of the element.

In one simple application, a listener is able to mix studio and liveversions of a song from one artist. However, it is not unusual for asingle form to be recorded by different artists at different times.Using the system, different versions of the same song may be woventogether to create a hybrid. Likewise, a medley of different songs bythe same or different artists can be woven together to create anentirely new song.

A musical phrase or verse is segmented into audio phrases and assignedcodes. The visual interpretation of how phrases are digitally stored areshown in the following Tables:

TABLE I Ver Ver Ver A B C Pre-edited Phrases A1 B1 C1 Yesterday A2 B2 C2All my troubles seem so far away A3 B3 C3 Now looks as though they arehere to stay

TABLE II Ver Ver Ver A B C Pre-edited Phrases A1 B2 n/a Yesterday A2 B2C2 Random Verse 1 A3 B3 n/a Now looks as though they are here to stay A4B4 C4 Random Verse 2 A5 B5 n/a Oh I believe, in Yesterday

TABLE III Ver Ver Ver A B C Pre-edited Phrases A1 B2 n/a Yesterday A2 B2C2 TV Clip 1 A3 B3 n/a Now looks as though they are here to stay A4 B4C4 TV Clip 2 A5 B5 n/a Oh I believe, in Yesterday

Table I illustrates the simple scenario of mixing different version ofthe same song. The user can easily mix the phrases from the differentversions to create a new song. For instance, the use can make a versionthat is A1 B2 A3 or C1 A2 B3, and continuing to pick versions of eachphrase until the song is complete. By having the phrases preset, theuser can quickly and easily string the phrases together, without needingto determine where each phrase should begin and end. Each song wouldhave its own alphanumeric code so as to be enable users to quickly findsongs.

Table II exemplifies the mixing of disparate songs. Again the user isable to string together various phrases of different songs to create anentirely new song. The songs may be combined based on their similartheme or subject matter or because they have the same rhythm, tempo ormelody. This allows the combination of any number of songs or even theinsertion of a few phrases into a song. In a similar situation, videoclips can be added to songs, as depicted in Table III. The video clips,like the audio clips, are pre-edited and stored as a file main portionwith a tag at the beginning and ending.

The invention allows the easy mixing of elements to create new versionsof one songs or the conglomeration of different songs in any order theuser desires. Every song or video is pre-edited into elements formingblocks that can be combined. Once the elements are chosen, a file can becreated. The file may be the elements themselves or the codes for theelements. In the latter case, the computer reads the codes and retrievesthe elements to play the file. The invention can be performed in aprocedure as follows:

1) The user inserts two CDs into a suitable device, such as a DSPdigital signal processor;

2) User selects two or more tracks to be mixed;

3) The device recognizes the title/artist/track selection from encodingon the CD;

4) The device creates a code file in the data base;

5) The user initiates playback of a track in it entirety while viewingthe corresponding code on the consumer interface while pre-annotatedelements are being played;

6) User repeats the above step for the second (and each additional)track;

7) The user selects sequence of alternating selective playback bypushing buttons corresponding to codes (ie. A1 B2 B3 etc.)

8) User initiates selective playback by pressing a “Blend” button;

9) User preserves mix by pressing a “File” button to create file withartist/track date stamped and the corresponding selected codes;

10) User listens to selective alternating playback sequence orpre-annotated elements while viewing associated codes on consumerinterface (LCD);

11) Option of pressing a “Random” button to create random mix of twotracks;

12) Save random mix as in step 9

13) Listen to random mix as in step 10

14) Equipment may have remote control

15) May mix tracks from same CD.

While the invention has been described with reference to preferredembodiments, variations and modifications would be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The invention encompasses such variations and modifications.

I claim:
 1. A method of creating mixed digital media, comprising loadingsource material into a database editing the source material to create aplurality of elements, assigning each element a code, combining aplurality of elements in a file.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein eachelement comprises a file main portion with a tag at the beginning andending.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the source material comprisessongs.